Witnesses told AP that the electrocution occurred when someone on the float — sponsored by hip-hop collective Barikad Crew — poked an overhead power cable with a pole in an attempt to create space for the float to pass underneath.

A number of the victims were instantly electrocuted in a flash of sparks, while others jumped off the float, causing panic in the crowd, witnesses said.

Natacha Saint Fleur, a 22-year-old reveler who was standing near the float at the time, said: "I saw the wire falling and sparks and I started running for my life."

On Tuesday, officials in Haiti said they canceled the last day of carnival and called for three days of mourning, Reuters reported.